Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
by ameliambrose
Summary: Dean/Roman. Futuristic AU. The first time Dean sees him, he's on a looping video on a holographic advertisement promoting the fight that was about to start. His name flashed below his video and Dean uttered it, testing the sound of it on his voice. "Roman Reigns."


Hey there! So I decided to post this fic I've been working on before I started Best of You. It was just an idea I started writing down and I didn't really like it (and I still feel weird about it), but I figured posting it here wouldn't hurt and there aren't a lot of sci-fi AUs in the WWE fandom, so...

 **Please read so you won't be confused: This story is set in the distant future. If you've ever seen or heard of Elysium, you can kind of picture where I was going with the setting. Basically, a great deal of the earth is ravaged by disease, crime, pollution, war, and famine. The middle class and rich people live on** **technologically advanced space stations that hover above the Earth (aka The Ground). Even though there are dozens of stations surrounding the world, the two main stations mentioned in this fic are Celestia (a futuristic suburban setting where the extremely wealthy live), and New Purgatory (a futuristic city setting where the middle-class/lower middle-class live). Dean's family (The McMahon's) are the owners of a medical corporation on Celestia that specializes in organ repairs, synthetic organ transplants, and cosmetic surgery. They basically keep people alive, healthy, and looking young for as long as possible, as long as they have the funds.**

I hope the story's setting at least makes some sense to you guys, because, like I said. I just started writing. I may continue it if you guys like it. The Best of You is still my first priority, but I can never say no to people when they ask me to finish stuff lol.

 **General warnings for this fic:** angst, sex, prostitution, character death (not Dean or Roman), typical crude language from Dean Ambrose.

* * *

The first time Dean sees him, he's on a looping video on a holographic advertisement promoting the fight that was about to start. His opponent, one Bad News Barrett, was loud, cocky, and rowdy while he, on the other hand, stood there looking stormy and angry. His name flashed below his video and Dean uttered it, testing the sound of it on his voice.

"Roman Reigns."

Dean had never been to one of these illegal fights on New Purgatory before, but there was a first time for everything. He didn't like gambling too much (not because he was afraid of losing money, but because he hated losing, period), but when one of his friends informed him about the illegal underground betting scene, Dean knew he had to go. When you're as rich as Dean is and you grew up in clean, crisp Celestia, you tend to get drawn to seedy places as an act of rebellion or curiosity. Not somewhere as seedy as The Ground, but someplace dirty enough to get your hands a bit dirty. Something you can live through and brag to your other rich friends about.

Dean bet 60,000 credits on Roman, despite the fact that his opponent had a 22 win streak and Roman had 2 losses under his short 11 match career. But there was something about Roman that drew Dean to him. Even in the beginning as he stared at his looping video, he knew he was going to win.

Dean was right. Roman broke the arm of the other guy within 4 minutes and knocked him out within 8. As the medics checked on his opponent, Roman paced around the ring, snarling like a wild animal, daring the other man to get up so he can finish him off. When he didn't rise, Roman was crowned the victor.

From then on, it became like an addiction to Dean, watching Roman fight. He came to see him every week, shelling out more money betting on Roman than was necessary. Sometimes Roman lost and, in turn, Dean lost his money. He didn't care, though. Dean hated to see him lose, but he felt like watching the fight itself was all worth it.

Roman's brute strength and seething, quiet anger attracted Dean like a moth to a flame. Dean, who had never wanted anything in his life without getting it, wanted Roman. He knew he was going to get Roman. Whether it be through money or charisma, he was going to get him.

Dean waited until a night when Roman lost his match before he asked for an audience with the owner. The owner of the establishment was a short seedy little man who Dean thought resembled a rat. He made sure to namedrop his father and his family so the man knew who he was dealing with right off the back. As suspected, when the man learned who Dean was, he was willing to give him whatever he wanted. Dean only had a simple request: to meet Roman Reigns as soon as possible.

"He's on his way to the shuttle that'll take him down to The Ground," The man said, hurriedly. "I can call him back if you'd like."

"That would be splendid." Dean replied as he flashed a smile.

* * *

Dean requested that Roman meet him at AFTERLIFE, one of New Purgatory's many bars. Dean spotted him as soon as he stepped into the bar. He watched as Roman looked around the crowded room before making his way over to the bar where Dean left the memo to meet him. He was limping and he sat down on one of the barstools gingerly, wincing a little as he settled in. He did get one hell of an ass kicking an hour ago, so Dean wasn't surprised.

One of the beautiful bartenders made her way over to Roman and gave him a bright smile. She wore tight, white see-through dress that barely covered her ass. When she leaned forward on the glass bar, her coffee colored breasts threatened to spill out of her top and her long, curly hair tumbled over her shoulders.

Dean bet she was an android, but it was so hard to tell these days. They were starting to look more and more human. However, not a lot of New Purgatory and Celestian women flirted with Grounders, yet alone even _spoke_ to them, and Roman was an obvious Grounder, with his dirty clothes and wild hair.

Service Androids were programmed to be as human as possible, but they weren't equipped with any classist, racist, sexist, or other discriminatory programs yet.

 _Yet._

"What can I get for you, handsome?" The bartender asked as she blinked at him flirtatiously. Her smile widened and her white teeth looked bright against her red, full lips.

"He'll have a Draex if you serve that here," Dean said as he approached the bar. Roman spun his head around to stare at him. "I'll have a Zaera, on the rocks, two slices of lime."

Dean took a seat next to Roman and watched the other man shift uncomfortably.

"Who are you?" Roman asked quietly, and then he looked around suspiciously before he leaned in. "Do I owe you money?"

"No," Dean said as he tilted his head. He filed Roman's money problem away for later. He may be able to use that. "I'm just a fan. I've been coming to watch you fight for weeks."

Roman stared at him. "Are you the guy who's been placing all that money on me?"

Dean was shocked, but he kept his features under control. "You know about that?"

"Yeah," Roman said as the bartender came back with his beer and Dean's drink. "Sorry I made you lose your bet tonight. If you're lookin' to get it back, I'm not the one you should be talkin' to."

Dean laughed cooly before he took a sip of his drink. "Money is of no concern to me, man."

Roman bristled, clearly not impressed, and Dean knew then that flashing his money wouldn't get Roman in his bed so he had to try a different technique. No problem. He liked a challenge.

"Good for you. Now, if you don't mind, can you tell me why I'm here because the last shuttle down to The Ground leaves in about 30 minutes and I don't have money to rent a room up here for the night, so…?"

Dean decided to just get to the point. Roman seemed like a straight-forward guy, and that was great, because so was Dean. It was a family trait to just cut straight to the point. "Well, you can always spend the night with me. I'll have my private shuttle take you down to The Ground tomorrow."

Roman sat there shocked still for a few seconds before his face went red hot. The same angry expression he had in the ring reared its beautiful head and Dean knew he crossed a line. It excited him.

"I'm not a whore," Roman gritted out between clenched teeth. "Have a good night."

Roman moved to get up, but Dean jumped up, placing a hand on his arm to stop him. Roman looked down at it, his grey eyes widening dangerously. Dean thought back to all of the times Roman had literally beat guys to near death in the ring and he wondered if the only thing stopping him from breaking Dean's arm was the fact that a Grounder on Celestian or New Purgatorian assault was taken extremely seriously.

"Come on, let's talk for a bit, hmm?" Dean asked, turning up his charm in an attempt to diffuse the situation. "Sit down. At least finish your beer. I spent 60 credits on it."

"I didn't ask you to," Roman said as he slowly sat down again. Dean smiled triumphantly. The fact that he was even willing to listen meant that Dean was one step closer to his goal.

"I know, but, hey it's the least I can do," Dean said, sliding back into his stool. "After offending you and all. The offer still stands by the way."

"Look, if you've got money to burn, I'm sure there are a lot of legal and better looking men and women you can hire for services like that up on Celestia," Roman said as he fiddled with his beer. "And you're rich and good-looking, you shouldn't even have to pay." He waved his hand around the bar, gesturing to the many patrons in the room. "Take your pick."

Dean bit his bottom lip. His charm worked on calming Roman down so now he could move onto mild flirting. "Hey, I've had my eyes on you since I first saw you," He said as he ran his finger around the rim of his glass. "I'm not in the mood for _pristine_ tonight."

Roman chuckled humorlessly. "So it's a kink thing. You like picking guys up from The Ground just so you can tell your friends you did?"

"It's a kink thing, yeah, but it's not that." Dean said bluntly. "I like to be roughed up. I have a thing for strength. You've got it. I saw it."

Roman screwed up his face, but he wasn't running away again, so Dean pressed on, switching to his manipulative mode now. "Come on. One night won't hurt, Roman. You didn't get paid from the match tonight, did you? You lost."

Roman shook his head and looked down. He was almost broken. Almost.

"And I'm sure you're fighting for a reason other than the glory since you don't seem like you're having fun out there, so it has to be for money," Dean pressed on. He leaned closer until he was practically whispering in Roman's ear. "I'll pay you 200,000 credits."

Roman's head snapped up and he turned to stare at Dean. "Two hundred-?"

"Two hundred thousand, big guy. Just to fuck my brains out." Dean interrupted, resting a hand on one of Roman's strong thighs. About a week ago, he saw Roman put some lucky guy in a chokehold with those very thighs. Dean felt his cock twitch in his pants at the memory. "What do you say?"

Roman seemed to consider it for a while. Dean watched him closely as Roman stared down at a tattoo of a symbol on his wrist. After contemplating for a while, Roman closed his eyes and nodded.

Dean smiled and waved the pretty bartender over. He handed her his shiny credit chit to pay for their drinks.

* * *

Within a half an hour, Dean and Roman were on their way up to Celestia in Dean's personal shuttle. Roman seemed to be in quiet awe of everything around him. The shuttle going down to the ground was old and rickety with outdated technology since it was barely used. Dean's shuttle was shiny and new and stock full of drinks. Dean caught Roman staring out the window with wide eyes as the shuttle flew above New Purgatory and made its way up to Celestia. It dawned on Dean that Roman had probably never been this high up or this close to Celestia before.

Grounders were not allowed on Celestia. They were allowed on New Purgatory, but only at certain time periods. Still, they were closely watched and were not allowed to stay for more than a few hours unless given permission. Dean tried to imagine how seeing Celestia for the first time must feel to a Grounder. All white everything, holographic videos and ads playing everywhere, a lot more service and virtual intelligence androids walking around than on New Purgatory, and the entire place covered with a seemingly barely-there translucent dome.

Everything on The Ground was dirty and real, while everything on Celestia was new, crisp, and artificial. Even the air. Dean grew up with that shit, so to him, it was an everyday thing, but to Roman, it must've looked amazing.

After Dean's shuttle docked, he quickly hailed one of the automated taxis to take them to his house. The ride wasn't long, but it felt like forever. Dean was starting to get antsy. He wasn't a patient man due to his spoiled upbringing. He tried instructing the automated taxi to speed up, but he was quickly denied with a robotic voice informing him that they were not allowed to exceed the speed limit.

He should have gotten a fucking human driver.

* * *

When they were finally inside, Roman still looked around at everything in his home with poorly disguised childlike awe. Dean tilted his head stared at him. He found the other man's curiosity and interest quite endearing. He let Roman soak in his shiny surroundings for a while before the house program greeted Dean with a: "Good evening, Mr. Ambrose." Roman nearly jumped out of his ratty clothes as he looked around, expecting someone else in the room.

"Good evening, DORIS." Dean answered as he took off his blazer and dropped it on the couch before and he began to undo his cufflinks.

"You have 27 new messages. 20 on your main line and 7 on your private line. Would you like me to play them?"

"Who are they from?" Dean asked as he unbuttoned his shirt. Roman stared at him before looking around again, trying to find the speakers or where exactly the voice was coming from.

"You have 7 messages form your father-" The voice said before she got cut off by Dean.

"Delete all messages from my parents and save the others for later, DORIS, and don't bother me until tomorrow." Dean said as he dropped his shirt on his couch, next to his blazer.

"Very well, sir," The voice said before she was gone.

"Fancy," Roman remarked as he stood in the middle of Dean's living room, looking uncomfortable and so very out of place against the expensive surroundings. "So what do we do now? You'll have to excuse me if I'm a bit lost. I've never been paid for sex before."

Dean smirked. "Do you want a drink?"

"I want a shower, if that's ok?" Roman asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Dean's eyes lit up. "Even better."

"By myself," Roman clarified. I kinda want to patch myself up after getting my ass kicked a few hours ago."

Dean shrugged. "Ok. Follow me."

Dean led Roman to one of his bathrooms and left him in there with a towel and a first aid kit. When Roman closed the door, Dean went to the other bathroom to take his own bath.

An hour later, Dean was sitting on his bed impatiently, waiting for Roman to join him. He had already began prepping himself, which just made him even more impatient and horny. At least he got a head start on things. He wasn't sure if Roman had experience in fucking men, but just in case he didn't, Dean took care of all the preliminary details.

Roman found his way to Dean's bedroom a short while later, right as Dean was getting really warmed up. Roman entered the room, muttering something about getting lost in Dean's big house, but he paused in his tracks when he saw Dean on the bed, spread out with his fingers deep inside himself.

Roman averted his eyes and Dean had to scoff. "Don't be shy now, Roman."

"I just wasn't expecting…" He trailed off and entered the room completely, closing the door behind him. Dean wanted to ask him what was the point of closing the door, but he decided to let the man do whatever he wanted.

Roman only had a towel around his waist and it was too small, so one of his muscular thighs were exposed. There were some bandages and bruises on his arms and legs, but they really did very little towards tarnishing Roman's perfect body. Roman looked even better clean, as if the dirt and grime were covering perfection underneath.

"Come here, big guy," Dean said as he twisted his fingers just right, brushing them harder against his prostate. He was getting off on just watching the guy standing there half naked.

Roman slowly walked over to the bed and dropped the towel when he got close enough. Dean watched as Roman climbed up on his bed and crawled hesitantly towards him.

"Oh, fuck," Dean muttered as he watched Roman's huge cock shifting between his thick thighs. "I knew you'd be fucking big."

Roman stared down at his own cock before he looked at Dean's fingers moving in his ass. He swallowed thickly and Dean spread his legs wider, sensing that Roman would be up for a show.

"You fuck men, Roman?" He asked bluntly as he brushed his leg against Roman's.

"I have in the past," Roman said, his eyes fixed between Dean's legs. "It's been a while, though."

Dean just groaned and moved his hand faster, grounding ass down on his fingers. "Fuck, I'm gonna cum."

"Already?" Roman blurted out, staring down at Dean with wide eyes.

"Yeah, I've been hard since I saw you fight earlier," Dean groaned, closing his eyes. He we almost there, he just needed…

"Touch me," Dean requested, desperate. "Grab my cock."

To his surprise, Roman actually did what he asked without question. He took Dean's cock in his hand and stroked him once, twice before Dean was coming hard on his fingers.

"Don't stop!" Dean cried when Roman slowed down. Roman picked up his pace again and Dean pulled his fingers out of his ass and continued to spurt cum all over Roman's hand. "Fuck!"

When his orgasm finally subsided, he pushed Roman's hand away and sat up, staring dazedly at the other man. "Don't get too excited. I'm not done with you yet. I have an amazingly short refractory period."

Roman didn't say anything, he just sat there breathing heavily. His dark cock twitched between his legs and Dean grinned as he gestured for Roman to lay back against the pillows. Without much of a show, he dipped his head low between Roman's legs and swallowed his cock down.

Roman bit off a groan and tried his best to keep quiet as Dean worked his cock in his mouth. Dean didn't like quiet partners, but he wasn't too upset with Roman. In fact, he took it as a personal challenge to get Roman to make more noises.

He had all night with him after all.

* * *

It was lackluster at first. Roman was awkward and hesitant and when Dean pushed him back against the pillows and started to ride him, Roman just laid there, eyes screwed shut, as he pretended he wasn't feeling any pleasure at all. Dean tried to get Roman to wake up by swiveling his hips and clenching tight around him, but Roman just wasn't giving it to him like he wanted. Frustrated, Dean started to do what he did best: run his mouth.

"Is that all you got, Roman?" Dean said suddenly as he halted his movements and stared down at the other man. "Am I seriously paying you to waste my time?"

Roman's grey eyes snapped open and he narrowed his eyes. "What do you want me to do?"

"Fuck me!" Dean punctuated each word with a thrust of his own hips. "Or are you doing the best you can? Is this your best, Roman? No wonder you lost tonight."

"Shut the fuck up," Roman growled. His voice took on a deep, warning tone and any smart person would shut right the fuck up, but Dean was thinking with his cock at the moment and Roman's warning only made him want to press on.

"Make me!" Dean demanded, excited at the thought of Roman's patience and hesitance snapping. "Or I swear I will kick you out and send you back to The Ground with nothi-!"

Dean was cut off by Roman's broad hand fixing itself around his tender throat.

"I said shut up," Roman growled. Dean moaned and his eyes rolled back. "Is this what you people get off on up here?" Roman continued as he sneered at Dean. He tightened his hand, cutting off Dean's air. "You guys get off on angry Grounders roughing you up?"

"No," Dean choked out, his throat raw underneath Roman's hands. "As far as I know, it's just me."

"You're sick," Roman grunted before he pushed Dean back.

Dean fell back against the soft bed, gasping for air. He was about to reach for his throat to rub it when he felt Roman pull out of him roughly. Roman pushed Dean's legs up and spread them vulgarly before he fit himself between them and pushed in again without warning.

Dean cried out in pain and heart-stopping pleasure. He barely had time to get his bearings before Roman started to jackhammer into him, hitting him with whatever aggression he had pent up inside. Dean reached up in an attempt to grab something, anything to hold on to. His hand landed on Roman's shoulder, but Roman grabbed his hands and pinned them to the bed.

"Oh, fuck!" Dean cried as he tested Roman's hold. He couldn't budge.

Roman continued to fuck him into the mattress, hard enough that Dean's teeth clacked together and the whole bed jostled, banging noisily against his white walls.

"This what you wanted?" Roman taunted as he continued to drive his dick hard into Dean's pliant body, his still-wet hair swung down around them and Dean thought he looked so gorgeous, so fucking sexy. This gem, this exotic God was too good for The fucking Ground.

"Yeah, fuck yeah, just like that, Roman!" Dean babbled, mouth hanging open and eyes rolling. He could feel that he was already close again. "You're so good."

Roman let up on Dean's wrist and Dean's first thought was to get a hand around his cock so he could jerk it. He was right there, tethering on the edge of coming. He just needed-

Roman pulled out of him again and before Dean could even complain, he was being flipped over on his stomach and Roman was pushing his head down into the mattress. Dean whined into the pillow as Roman pushed his cock into him again. When he tried to rise up on his forearms, Roman shoved him back down roughly.

"Stay there," Roman commanded in a harsh, brutal voice that just sent chills up and down Dean's spine. Dean really had no choice but to stay. Not that he even wanted to move in the first place.

* * *

Turns out that Dean was right about Roman. He was an absolute angry beast in bed. After everything, he left Dean's body covered with bruises and Dean left his own fingernail marks down Roman's arm in return.

Dean came three times. _Three times_. Towards the end, he was so close to passing out from exhaustion and fatigue and all he could do was just lay there boneless and battered while Roman essentially held him in place and rutted between his splayed legs, using him to get off.

Dean was in heaven.

When Roman finally came, he did so with a loud roar and Dean held him still while he seemed to have the best orgasm of his life. One that left him shivering and twitching between Dean's thighs. He collapsed onto Dean, breathing harshly for a minute or two before he seemed to remember where he was and rolled over, pulling out of Dean and leaving him feeling empty.

"You are…" Dean panted as he turned over on his side to grope around on his bedside table for a cigarette and his electronic lighter. "God tier, man."

Roman just grunted and got up, swiftly. "So, are we done?"

Dean took a puff of his cigarette and squinted his eyes at Roman in the dim light of his room. "Leaving so soon?"

"Yes?" Roman said, holding a hand over his dick as if he was modest. Like Dean wasn't just coming his brains out on it 10 minutes ago.

Dean scoffed. "Come on. Stay the night. It's like 3am, man. I know you've never slept on a bed this comfortable before."

"Your bed is sticky," Roman pointed out. "And I really have to be home. I have some things to take care of."

"What things?" Dean asked, blowing smoke out of his nose. What did Grounders do in their spare time anyway? "Also, I have like 3 bedrooms. You can sleep in one of those."

Roman shifted, looking uncomfortable.

Dean didn't know why he wanted Roman to stay so badly. He usually kicked his one night stands out quickly. Maybe all the orgasms he had was fucking with his brain.

"Also, my chef will be here in the morning. He makes the best breakfast. When was the last time you had real fruit?" Dean asked as he got off the bed and walked up to Roman and crowded his personal space. "Come on, big guy. I don't feel like taking you to home yet. I'm tired. Just chill for one night."

Dean wasn't being completely honest. His tiredness wasn't the reason why he wanted Roman to stay. He had a fleeting thought of waking up with Roman's big body wrapped around him, nearly stifling him with his weight.

"Ok," Roman said, giving in to Dean once again. "Show me your other room."

* * *

Dean abandoned his dream of waking up buried under Roman and slept in his own room while Roman slept in the guest room, because Roman didn't trust him enough to sleep next to him. Fair enough.

The next day, he was awakened by DORIS reminding him that housing illegal Grounders and unregistered prostitution were two very serious offenses on Celestia. Dean told her to mind her business and muted her while he took a piss. He didn't unmute her again until after he'd cleaned up the majority of the sticky mess on his body and left to seek out Roman.

As he limped his way to the guest room, his whole body ached. It was a good, sexy feeling knowing that he was roughed up by Roman last night. He wondered if Roman would be up for round two. Or three. Or even maybe four. He was about to knock on the guest room door and offer Roman breakfast when he heard the other man chatting excitedly inside. He paused and pressed his ear to the door to listen.

"And they've got AI bots, baby!" Roman said, sounding excited. "And I even rode in a car that drove itself. It was cool. I wish you could have seen it. You will one day, though. I promise, baby girl."

 _Baby girl?_ Was Roman with someone?

Dean got an unpleasant jealous feeling deep in his stomach. He didn't know where it came from nor did he like it. He felt like Roman was a hidden gem. A diamond in the rough. He wanted Roman to himself.

"I'll be home as soon as possible," Roman said on the other side of the door. "I'm sorry I didn't call earlier. I just found out how to use this phone, but I'll be home soon. I love you."

Dean knocked on the door as soon as Roman hung up. Roman opened it, wearing a cleaned and pressed version of his clothes from yesterday. Dean's cleaners must have come early this morning. Dean wondered how much he'd have to pay them off to keep them from telling every gossip outlet that he had an illegal naked Grounder in his house. He sighed internally. Two hundred thousand credits to Roman and another hundred thousand to each of his cleaners. That equaled four hundred thousand credits total. Roman was working up quite a bill for Dean, however, the dull ache in his ass proved that it was worth it, though.

He noticed then that Roman was staring at him with a slight horrified expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" Dean asked.

"You're bruised," Roman said. He inspected Dean's body with a sick expression on his face. "Like everywhere."

Dean looked down at himself and he shrugged. Roman was being dramatic. Yeah he had a few bruises, but he wasn't black and blue. He was covered in typical rough sex marks. He looked like this at least once a month. "It's ok, dude. It's what I paid you for, right?"

Roman looked away and he shook his head, looking disgusted with himself. Dean felt a little guilty, but he didn't know why. What was his problem? Why was Roman affecting him like this? Why did he feel guilty? It's not like he _forced_ Roman to come here.

 _You did use his financial situation to get him here, though._ An annoying voice sneered in the back of his head. _When you're a Grounder, you'll do anything for money. Even sell your body. Even degrade yourself._

"You want some breakfast?" Dean asked, shoving the thoughts away.

"Can I go home after?" Roman asked, narrowing his eyes.

"You're not being held hostage," Dean said simply, trying to hide his annoyance. Nobody had ever tried to get away from him so quickly before. He was usually the one dismissing people.

"Well, I can't just go outside and call one of your fancy cabs, can I?" Roman snapped. "I'll be arrested, and so would you!"

"I have connections," Dean said flippantly as he turned and started to walk towards his kitchen, trusting that Roman would follow him.

Roman did, stuffing his big hands in his pockets and swaggering behind Dean slowly as he took in his surroundings again. "What kind of connections? You famous or something?"

Dean shrugged. "I guess."

They reached the kitchen and the look that came over Roman's face when he saw all the food laid out for them was priceless.

"So this is how the other half lives?" Roman asked as he hesitantly took a seat. His eyes never left the colorful arranges of real fruit, sparkling juices, coffee, protein bars, bread made with real flour, meat from animals that had been extinct on the ground for decades…

"Eat all you want," Dean offered. He wasn't hungry and he was more interested in watching Roman anyway.

Roman tried to mind his manners throughout breakfast. He ate slowly and fiddled with the knife and fork before he gave up and just used his fork. He looked like he was in heaven when he ate the fruit and he looked surprised to feel the bubbles in his mouth when he drank the sparkling juice. Dean thought he looked like a child.

A 6'3'' child who could probably kill him in under a minute, but still a child.

"You have an incoming call, sir." DORIS said, startling Roman again. "From Mr. Helmsley."

Dean groaned, tearing his eyes away from Roman to stare at the ceiling. "Ugh. Send it to voicemail."

"Your father has pushed the call through as URGENT. Do you still want to ignore it?" DORIS asked.

"Definitely," Dean said as he turned back to look Roman who was staring at him with an odd expression on his face now.

"As you wish, sir," DORIS said before she was gone again.

"Did she just say Mr. Helmsley?" Roman said as he slowly put his fork down. "As in Hunter Helmsley? Of McMahon Co?"

"Yeah," Dean said. "He's my father."

Roman swallowed whatever food he had in his mouth and closed his eyes for a second. There was a dangerous twitch in his jaw that put Dean on edge.

"You're his son?" Roman growled. "You're the heir? Dean?"

"Yeah," Dean said again, slowly. "I mean, I'm pretty much out of the running to own the company, but-"

"I have to go," Roman said as he shot up quickly, causing his glass of juice to spill.

"Wait!" Dean said before he forced composure back into his voice. He didn't want to come off as desperate. "What's wrong?"

When Roman didn't answer him, Dean walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Roman?"

"Don't fucking touch me!" Roman yelled as he grabbed Dean by his throat and slammed him up against the glass wall, cracking it.

"ALERTING AUTHORITIES." DORIS' voice warned loudly throughout the house as Roman pushed Dean harder into the glass.

"No!" Dean said, struggling to breathe. "No, DORIS, I can handle this." He wrapped a hand around Roman's wrist. "Ok, calm down, alright?"

Roman pulled back and let Dean drop down to the floor. He looked angry and a little distraught and Dean was confused. What the hell just happened?

"What's your problem?" Dean asked as he staggered to his feet. His throat felt raw and he was having some trouble breathing, but he tried to stay calm so DORIS wouldn't feel the need to call the cops again.

Roman stared at Dean with burning hatred. He reached into his pocket, pulled out an old withered picture of a woman and held it up. He stepped closer and pushed the picture directly in Dean's face, making sure he could get a good look. The woman was gorgeous, Dean had to admit. She was dressed in typical grounder rags, but she looked clean and happy. Her stomach was round and full and it was obvious to Dean that she was pregnant when the picture was taken.

"This was my wife!" Roman yelled. "Your family… they killed her!"

"What?" Dean asked, confused. He tore his eyes away from the picture and looked at Roman's bleak face. Roman's wife was dead? Then who was he talking to on the phone? "No, we help people. We don't kill them."

"You only help the rich!" Roman spat. He was starting to look frayed around the edges and manic. A normal person would have been scared for their life, but Dean held his ground. He could handle him. "They could have helped her, but they turned us away. Even after I saved all of the money for her new lungs, they couldn't be seen helping Grounders. They turned us away and she died! Now my daughter, she…" Roman trailed off. "I left her home, sick in bed, to come up here and degrade myself with the man whose family killed her mother."

"Look, we didn't kill your wife!" Dean said. "There had to be a reason why my father said he couldn't help her!"

"I didn't even get to meet your father!" Roman yelled, pocketing the picture again. "Instead they sent some skinny blond bitch to tell me with a smile on her face that they couldn't help us!"

Skinny blond bitch? The only skinny blond bitch who worked directly with his father was his sister Summer. Did his father send her to give Roman the bad news? Or did she take it upon herself to decide that they wouldn't help him?

Roman's face crumbled and it was odd, the way he went from 100 to 0 in a split second. "She was a good person. I… I've disrespected her memory coming here... doing this..."

Dean had never felt this horrible in his life. There was something about Roman that just churned up his insides and wrung the guilt out of him. "I'm- I'm sorry." Why was he sorry? It wasn't his fault that his sister and his father were assholes. He didn't make the call. He didn't make the rules. He didn't even work for the company.

"Take me back to The Ground right now or I'm walking out this door," Roman threatened, though his voice held no weight. He just looked tired and remorseful. The anger was gone, leaving back an empty shell. "Keep your money, just… I just want to go home."

"Yeah, ok." Dean said quietly. "I'll take you home."

* * *

The ride to The Ground was quiet and tense. Dean spent the majority of the time watching Roman, who seemed a lot less intrigued by his surroundings. He just stared out the window listlessly as they departed from Celestia and made their way down to New Purgatory.

After about 15 minutes of silence, Dean decided against his better judgement to get more information about Roman's wife. He would probably get punched, but the silence was deafening and he was curious.

"What was wrong with your wife's lungs?" He asked.

Roman's face went stormy and Dean could almost feel the hatred rolling off of him, but instead of hitting him, Roman actually answered.

"Dock Sickness," Roman muttered.

Dean had never heard of it. Maybe it was because they didn't have it on Celestia. Everyone up there was practically disease free and if they were born with defects and illnesses or developed them over time, his family just fixed them right up. Even the common cold was extremely rare to see.

"What is that?" Dean asked.

"There's something in the water," Roman said as he continued to look outside the shuttle window. "She worked at the docks and she contracted it. The symptoms are mild at first, but over time it becomes unbearable. Starts at the lungs and gives you a frequent cough. It can lay dormant in there for years, but if it isn't treated, eventually it spreads to the chest, throat, mouth, ears… Tears everything right up. It happens slowly. It's drawn out. It's a shitty way to go."

Dean tried to imagine what it must've felt like for Roman to see his wife like that every day and not be able to do anything about it. He felt a little sick at the thought.

"The worst was the heavy, labored breathing she developed in her last year. It echoed throughout the apartment every day, all day. I was so accustomed to hearing it that when it stopped one night, I almost went crazy because of the silence." He paused, then looked down at his wrist at that tattoo Dean saw him looking at last night at the bar. "It's contagious, but only through bodily fluids. I kissed her every night up until she died, but I never got it. My daughter, however, was born with it. She started showing symptoms a year ago. "

Roman's voice trailed off and he sniffled. He didn't cry, but Dean could see that he probably would have if he was alone in the shuttle.

Dean didn't ask any more questions.

* * *

Dean had never been to The Ground before. When he was 16, he and his friends attempted to skip school and hijack a shuttle. They didn't get far down before they were intercepted by New Purgatory guards and Dean was punished with a month without spending money, which just happened to be the month when the new X175 gaming system came out.

He'd fantasized about going to the ground when he was a teen, just to see how the unfortunate lived. In his young, spoiled, pampered mind, it would be like going to a zoo. There weren't zoos up on Celestia, but the history books mentioned them. Dean didn't know what the people in the past got out of watching caged animals, but he did see the fun in witnessing firsthand how people survived in the dangerous, dirty world down there.

As he got older, he cared less about visiting The Ground. His fascination with stepping a foot down there withered as he grew older, so even though he had the money and resources to take a trip down, it didn't cross his mind as often. Besides, he didn't need to go down _there_ to see how Grounders lived. Enough of them came up to New Purgatory to work and beg and whore themselves out for cheap, and since Dean spent a great deal of his time getting his hands dirty there, he ran into a few.

It was an odd experience, for lack of a better word, stepping onto the ground for the first time. The biggest difference was the air and the heat. Dean felt like he was stifling and he had to take a few breaths before he stopped feeling like his head was spinning.

"It's the air," Roman said as he watched Dean with caution, as if he was expecting him to collapse. "Hey, if you pass out, could you let these guards know I didn't do anything to you when you wake up?" As soon as he said that, they were surrounded by New Purgatory guards, immediately questioning Dean about clearance and off schedule-docking.

"I don't have any clearance," Dean said, trying to stand up straight and get himself together so he could handle this and diffuse the situation. "I'm just dropping a buddy of mine off."

The guards looked like they wanted to argue and Roman looked like he was expecting the worst, so Dean sighed and reached into his pocket.

Of course, money talks and the guards agreed to skip the questioning and leave him alone for 15 minutes. For some reason, that angered Roman even more. A soon as the guards were out of their hairs, he turned and stomped off towards the shuttle bay doors.

"Hey, I'm still paying you," Dean said before Roman could get away from him.

"I don't want your money!" Roman snapped as he continued to stalk away.

"Let me at least talk to my father about your daughter." Dean said quickly.

Roman paused and he turned to stare at Dean. He looked hopeful for a split second before his face turned stony again. "What do you want in return? You want me to fuck you again?"

A few Grounders waiting for their shuttle to go up to New Purgatory turned to stare at them and Roman ducked his head in shame. He walked up to Dean quickly, his voice taking on a quiet defeated tone. "It doesn't matter. Whatever you want, I'll do it. I'll do anything."

Dean could tell by Roman's mannerisms that it pained him to beg. Roman was probably prideful. A man of his looks and build had to be, but he was in a shitty situation. He was desperate. Dean took pity on him.

"We don't have to have sex again, ok?" Dean rolled his eyes. "It's no fun if you don't like it."

Roman's eyes lit up a little and Dean was a little insulted at how happy he looked while being informed that he didn't have to fuck him again.

"Well, damn, at least pretend to be upset!" Dean snapped. "Was it that bad?"

"No!" Roman said quickly. "I just… I don't like that part of myself. I don't like what I did to you, and I don't like that I did it for money. But, if you want, we can do it again…"

"Stop," Dean grumbled, feeling a little annoyed. "You don't have to, ok? I'll just give you the money I owe you and I'll talk to my father."

"I don't want the money," Roman repeated. "I just want your word that you'll at least try to get help for my daughter. I can pay whatever they want. I have money saved up and I can get more!"

Dean was about to respond, but one of the guards came back to give them both a "15 minutes is up" warning.

"I promise, alright?" Dean said as Roman turned to leave.

Dean watched him go until he was through the doors. He then turned and went back to his shuttle and began his ascent back up to Celestia. When he was clear of The Ground and approaching New Purgatory, he pulled out his phone and got DORIS on the line.

"DORIS, send note to my father that I'd like to have that talk with him whenever he's available."

* * *

TBC~


End file.
